Don't let NAS consolidation impair performance

NAS upgrades are usually deployed to add capacity or performance to file-based storage. While it's easy to see any additional capacity, users often fail to consider the added performance requirements. For example, it might make sense to replace two or three older file servers or NAS boxes with a single large NAS platform. Consolidation eases hardware maintenance needs, lowers power demands and can add substantially more storage capacity to the data center.

The problem is that some organizations add disks without considering the underlying performance needs. Having fewer storage systems is usually a plus, but now more users are vying to access that one consolidated NAS box. This leads to contention, which can impair file-based storage performance. NAS upgrade plans should extend beyond the notion of capacity. New NAS systems must include the additional connectivity and internal disk controller architecture needed to match an organization's needs for greater storage performance. And regardless of the vendor's reputation, you can't just take them at their word. In-house testing must be a core element of th

To continue reading for free, register below or login

Requires Membership to View

To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information (all fields required):

First Name:
Last Name:
Country: Select... Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Email Address:

I would like to receive a FREE subscription to Storage magazine online.
YesNo

Do you manage, evaluate, recommend, implement, support or purchase storage products, software or services?
YesNo

What is your average annual expenditure on storage including hardware, software and services?
Please select... $20 million + $10 to $19.9 million $5 to $9.9 million $1 to $4.9 million $500K to $999K $250K to $499K Less than $250K None

What is your role in purchasing?
Technical decision maker
Financial decision maker
Determine need
Evaluate products/services
Recommend and specify products/services
Implement products/services
None

By joining SearchStorage.com you agree to receive email updates from the TechTarget network of sites, including updates on new content, magazine or event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile or unsubscribing via email.

TechTarget cares about your privacy. Read our Privacy Policy

Clustered NAS systems do not necessarily provide more performance or scalability than nonclustered NAS platforms. Businesses that accept that premise at face value may be disappointed by the results.

Data migration is another critical issue that gets overlooked during a NAS upgrade or consolidation cycle. Once the new NAS is deployed, data must be migrated from existing NAS systems. The migration process can be time-consuming, possibly resulting in substantial disruption to the business. You want to develop a data migration plan that will impose minimal disruption. If you intend to let the new NAS vendor handle your data migration, you should fully understand the business impact, and see that the vendor commits to all your migration objectives.

"Look beyond the basic speeds and feeds," says Greg Schulz, founder and senior analyst at the Storage IO Group. "Look at any applicable or relevant performance comparisons for different applicable workloads to get an idea of how those extra disks, ports, memory, controllers and nodes in a cluster actually work to deliver what you are expecting."

Stephen J. Bigelow is the Features Writer for SearchStorage.com

Rate this Tip To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchStorage.com. Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member. BROWSE BY TAG SAN/NAS Update,   NAS hardware,   NAS (network attached storage),   NAS management,   Storage Consolidation,   Storage Consolidation Buying Guide,   Related information,   NAS and storage gateways,   Network Attached Storage,   Storage consolidation overview,   Network attached storage management,   High availability network attached storage clustering,   Storage consolidation additional resources,   VIEW ALL TAGS Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us    RELATED CONTENT SAN/NAS Update Storage-area networks to become increasingly object based Reducing storage network complexity with FCoE Clustered storage essentials: What to ask your vendor The value of easy-to-use SAN storage SAN storage consolidation checklist Pros and cons of using NAS NFS with VMware A case for 8 GB Fibre Channel Wide stripe before you dive into SSD How to determine a NAS system's scalability Top five SAN tips of 2008 NAS hardware HP resizes its ExDS9100 scale-out NAS system; finds market broader than original Web 2.0 target Storage Decisions Chicago 2009 Session Downloads Sun claims open storage traction; will Oracle approve? ONStor embraces ZFS, goes multiprotocol EMC adds file-level single instancing, Flash to Celerra Scale-out NAS poised for growth Special Report: Direct-attached storage Storage Decisions San Francisco 2008 Session Downloads Sun repackages open storage NAS products NAS clusters grow as unstructured data expands NAS hardware Research NAS management Storage Decisions Chicago 2009 Session Downloads Isilon expands with transactional and archive systems Digital Reef aims for data classification scalability EMC adds file-level single instancing, Flash to Celerra Scale-out NAS poised for growth How to determine a NAS system's scalability Top five NAS tips of 2008 Storage Decisions San Francisco 2008 Session Downloads Sun repackages open storage NAS products Attune file virtualization software reports on Windows NAS performance NAS management Research RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary direct-attached storage  (SearchStorage.com) NAS accelerator  (SearchStorage.com) Network File System  (SearchWinIT.com) network-attached storage  (SearchStorage.com) unified storage  (SearchStorage.com) RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.